Colin Montgomerie, the Europe captain, congratulates Edoardo Molinari, right, on the 18th after the afternoon's final match finished all square. Photograph: Lynne Cameron/PA

When the cheering stopped and the putts had all dropped on another sodden but enthralling chapter of the 2010 Ryder Cup the expression on Colin Montgomerie's face fell somewhere between ecstatic and euphoric: a bit like his day, in fact.

Come out fast, Europe's captain had instructed his players on a notice placed above the team-room door this morning and after the inevitable rain delay – five and three-quarter hours on this occasion, lest the Welsh tourist board is trying to keep a secret – the men in the dark blue cashmere obliged and no one more swiftly than Lee Westwood, who dropped a 45ft putt for birdie on the 10th before Tiger Woods had time to straighten his hat. Boom baby! – to borrow a phrase later yelled into immortality by the very excitable and very, very good Jeff Overton.

The American rookie, whose excellence has been one of the biggest surprises over the last three days at Celtic Manor, holed his second shot at the 8th, a 140‑yard wedge for an eagle, prompting one of the more memorable celebrations in golf. But that was one of the rare bright spots for Corey Pavin and his not so merry men on a day that went pretty much as Montgomerie had planned it: all blue.

The European captain had asked overnight that the video display boards around the course were devoted less to showing live play and more to showing live scores, and no wonder. The aim was to energise the galleries and, it was hoped, intimidate the American players and it appeared to work. His team were ahead in all six matches out on the course when play began at 1.30pm and when it ended they had won 5½ points.

That gave the home team a three-point advantage – 9½ to 6½ – heading into tomorrow's session of 12 singles matches, needing to win five points to regain the trophy snatched away by the USA at Valhalla two years ago. Just as significantly, the overwhelming superiority shown by the European players, in grittiness of attitude and quality of golf, suggested a psychological advantage that will be difficult to overcome.

"This thing ain't half over," a defiant Stewart Cink said at the end of the day but he should try telling that to Phil Mickelson, who has now played three and lost three, and Tiger Woods, who went down to his worst defeat at the Ryder Cup, a 6&5 thumping delivered by Westwood and Luke Donald to the world No1 and his partner, Steve Stricker.

That victory came 47 minutes after play restarted and it was identified by Montgomerie as potentially the pivotal moment of the week. "He [Woods] is their strongest player and to see him brought down like that was a great boost to our team," he said. It was also a crushing setback for the American team, which he did not say and did not need to.

Westwood's and Donald's point was followed into the Europe side of the ledger by another courtesy of Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy, who holed a beauty of a putt on the 17th to close out Zach Johnson and Hunter Mahan. It was a cathartic moment for the young Ulsterman, who 24 hours earlier had missed a short putt on thesame green to go behind in a match against Cink and Matt Kuchar that eventually went the Americans' way. "Totally opposite end of the spectrum," he said when asked to sum up the difference a day, and his first win in the Ryder Cup, had made to his mood.

For a spell in mid-afternoon the Americans somehow managed to hold back the European tide but then the dam burst and before he knew it McIlroy had plenty of company in his land of dreamy dreams. Ian Poulter and Martin Kaymer added to the European points total with a 2&1 win over Rickie Fowler and Mickelson, and so did Peter Hanson and Miguel Angel Jiménez, who finally dampened the spirits of Overton and Bubba Watson with a birdie on the 18th to win two up.

The fifth and possibly most significant European win came from Ross Fisher and Padraig Harrington, an unlikely pairing but one that gelled wonderfully to see off Jim Furyk and Dustin Johnson on the 17th green. "It was an honour to have a three-time major champion reading my putts," said Fisher, who played out of his skin. Harrington read the putts, sure, but also produced more than enough good shots to suggest he could add to his total of two points before this thing is over. Welcome back, Padraig.

Predictably Pavin sought afterwards to draw a line under the day's events, pointing out that bigger deficits have been overcome in the singles session. That is true enough but this is not Brookline1999. This is Celtic Manor 2010, where crowds are overwhelmingly pro-European and the sloppy conditions are overwhelmingly in favour of the European players. He knows that, his players surely know it and the Europeans definitely know it.

"It was the Sunday we all dreamed of," said Harrington. "Unfortunately there is a Monday still to come." From where Montgomerie was sitting tonight it is a Monday that cannot come quickly enough.